Members of the Newton Rec Center Board and the Newton Township Board of Supervisors have a ribbon cutting to officially reopen the center.
Ben Freda | For Abington Journal
Helen Mazaleski, 4, of Newton Township, left, and Bo Stewart, 3, of Ransom Township, paint rocks in the Newton Rec Center.
Ben Freda | For Abington Journal
Kerry Gregory promotes her dance school, A Steppin’ Time Dance Company, in the gymnasium.
Ben Freda | For Abington Journal
Anne Summerhill, 2, of Newton Township, gets inside a U.S. Army jeep.
Ben Freda | For Abington Journal
U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, gives a certificate of special congressional recognition to the Newton Recreation Center Board.
Ben Freda | For Abington Journal
NEWTON TOWNSHIP — The Newton Recreation Center Fall Festival returned on Saturday, Sept. 23, after a hiatus for a couple years due to the pandemic.
The building’s parking lot was filled with food trucks as well as service vehicles for the festival’s Touch-a-Truck, including a firetruck from the Newton Ransom Volunteer Fire Company. Due to on and off rain that day, construction equipment such as tractors and bulldozers were put on hold. But the U.S. Army showed up with a radar truck and a couple of jeeps for the kids to explore.
Many local vendors graced the Newton Rec Center’s gymnasium. Becky Bryk, who owns Bryk Farms with her son Nick Nocella, sold pumpkins, gourds and popping corn. The farm is down the road from the rec center.
“I think it’s a great place,” Becky said about the center. “It’s good for the community.”
Kerry Gregory, owner of A Steppin’ Time Dance Company, promoted her dance school by showing a video of her students’ performances.
“I’m happy to see the community stopping to see my dances,” she said.
Kerry teaches ballet, jazz, pointe, tap and lyrical dances inside the recreation center.
Ann Williams, owner of Gryphon Winds LLC, shared information about how to care for band instruments. She provides maintenance and cleaning services to woodwind and brass instruments. She also offered used refurbished instruments for sale. She also sold plush birds that she makes from scratch. As a former student, Anne, who attended second and fourth grade at the center when it was an elementary school, is glad to see the Newton Rec Center open for the public again.
“It’s nice to see the place being utilized,” she said.
The festival doubled as as grand reopening of the Newton Rec Center. The center is welcoming programs again.
There are currently sports programs in the gymnasium such as soccer, basketball, volleyball and line dancing. The community room is being used for parties and paint-and-sips. The center also has a fitness room that the commitee is looking to update with new exercise equipment. Outside the building, people enjoy the walking track and the pavilion.
“We’re trying to do a lot of events that people would be interested in to get people back in the building,” said Denise Miller, building commitee member. “Basically, we want to restore the building back the way it was.”
There is also a history room with old photos and memorabilia of when it was Newton High School from the 1920s to 1964. The Newton Recreation Board is looking for photos and other memorabilia of when it was Newton Elementary School from 1965 to 1995.
The Newton Recreation Center Board’s fundraising committee applied for a grant for outdoor recreation including nets for pickleball. The members are looking at restoring the building. Their goal is to run three community events per year – the fall festival, a Christmas event, and an event during spring. They are also looking at giving the stage in the gymnasium infrastructure to support the arts.
Another goal is to make the history room into a computer lab to give seniors access to a computer and teach them how to use it. There is currently a book club that meets every month for seniors or for anyone else who is interested in joining.
“We’re trying to make sure that we have a little something for everybody,” said Terry Purcell, chairperson of the Newton Rec Center Board.
